


The Surfer and the Merman

by ElStark



Series: Sterek Tumblr Ficlets [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Happily Ever After, Happy Ending, M/M, Merman Derek, Soulmates, Surfer Stiles, True Mates, Tumblr ficlet, merman au, star crossed lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-22 10:18:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6075549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElStark/pseuds/ElStark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek hale is a merman who's been in love with the handsome surfer Stiles, since as long as he can remember.<br/>On his 18th Birthday he gets the chance to actually walk and he finally meets Stiles.<br/>This is a little story of how their friendship turns into a love story, and how when everything seems lost, their love will triumph, always.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Surfer and the Merman

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Emela](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emela/gifts).



> So, this is a Sterek Tumblr ficlet that turned into a 6k Star crossed lovers fluffy angst monster..
> 
> I thought it was a pity not to publish it here, so here it is, hope you'll enjoy!

Derek as the merman that every morning sneaks off without his nosy, annoyingly protective family knowing, to watch the handsome professional surfer Stiles coach the little kids that come to learn during their summer breaks, and then to come back to see him practice in the afternoons, (ofc Laura and Cora knows and Talia too but L and C don't know that their mom knows too).  

 _This_ has been going on for a while now, Derek practical grew watching the kid learn how to balance his weight on a surfboard and become this amazing multi-competition winner young man, and he's pretty positive that he's  in love with the guy.

On his eighteenth birthday he's given the gift of spending a day on the ground, with Actual legs, and Talia and his sisters are all fussing over him, telling him how he needs to be careful, cuz No ONE can know his secret because, otherwise he'd turn into sea foam, and Derek is nodding, not listening at all because all he can think of is that he will be able to actually Speak to Stiles and maybe sing to him something and make him fall in love with him and live happily ever after, like in that story  that he heard one day from a mom telling his kids about!

And so he goes on the ground on midnight, and his tail magically transform into two separate legs and he's so happy, he may tear up a little and his sisters can tease him all they want and he wouldn't care because, finally he gets to realise his lifetime's dream.  So, he stands up, and promptly fall on his face.

“Oh my god, dude you okay?”

Someone asks as he tries to wipe off the sand from his face with a grunt, (Ugh sand is so annoying when it's dry, how do humans deal with it?  ugh is getting everywhere UGH)

“Jesus, that was quiet the fall, what did you trip on?"

He looks up then, and finds Stiles sitting on his board floating on the water a few feet from him, his beautiful mole dotted, pale skin illuminated by the moonlight, he looks like a dream come true  and Derek is so awestruck that his brain short-circuits  and he can only stare for a while.

“Hey, you didn't hit your head, did you?” Stiles asks then and that reboots Derek's system and he stammers an,

“Uh, uh- no?” Stiles’ raises his eyebrows at that, but then his lips stretch in an amused smile and Derek feels his stomach doing funny things and his whole body tingling, because he did _that_ , he made the love of his life smile, after night upon night and day upon day spent dreaming and Daydreaming of doing just that, and this is probably the most important moment of his entire life,

“Are you asking me?”

Derek takes a while to connect the question to what he said before and then feels himself blush and he stammers again “N- yes no, I mean I'm fine, I really am.. Fine.”

Stiles’ grin grows wider and Derek is positive he wants to spend the rest of his life making sure that that grin stays on his beautiful face all the time. “I haven't seen you around, are you new or just here for the holidays?”

At that Derek's stomach drops a little, because while he knows Stiles since he was 7, for Stiles he's just a stranger, and that sets astray his plan to make him fall in love with him a little.. “No..” He says after a while, “I'm here just for a day.”

“Oh, that's a pity..”

“Yeah?”

Stiles rubs the back of his neck, “Yeah, man, it's such a beautiful place, not to mention that these days the waves are _Fantastic_!”

“Yeah, I noticed..” Derek says distractedly, too busy watching enamoured the way Stiles’ whole face lights up whenever he  talks excitedly about anything related to surfing.

“You surf too!?”

Derek frowns and then nods, “Yeah, I guess you could say that..”

“Ow dude! But that's awesome!” Stiles exclaims with a big grin and Derek feels that tingling move to his heart, “how many years you've been practicing?”

“Almost my entire life..”

“Oh my god! We were meant to be!” Derek's heart actually stops at that. “- I swear! Me too! Oh, wait, were you practising before, when you fell?”

And Derek nods because he doesn't know what else to do, and when Stiles asks him about his board he says something stupid like “A Shark ate it” And Stiles looks at him oddly but shrugs it off.

Then the real problem comes when Stiles suggests to take him home and Derek realises that he is in fact _naked_. So he invents another ridiculous excuse like “I lost my shorts while I was surfing”

And Stiles actually flinches at that and says “Ow, dude, that's the worst, it happens to me _all_ the time, too”

And Derek is really trying not to question where he was when this happened because as much as he raked his brain he didn't recall seeing Stiles being all flustered because he lost his pants during  a pretty heavy strong wave, he Wanted to, though.

Anyhow, Stiles swims away and after a while returns with some clothes and Derek knows theoretically how they go and where, but he has some difficulties with the shirt and after the fifth time, Stiles comes up to him and helps him to put his arms in the right holes, “you sure you didn't hit your head?” And Derek blushes, because _seriously_  he couldn't be anymore graceless as a human, when as a merman he's the winner of The Grace Swimming Dance Competition.

“Hey, do you want me to take you back to the hostel, that's where you're staying, right?” Stiles asks bringing him back to the present, “My home is on the way, anyway..”

Derek nods “sure.” Even though he's not sure what exactly a ‘hostel’ is.

So they walk and Stiles talks. A lot. And Derek has no idea where they're going, but he doesn't care if he gets to watch up close the way Stiles practically _vibrates_ with energy as he discusses of the widest topics. But then they arrive at destination and Stiles is smiling a little sadly at him “Well, I guess this is goodnight” he waves and then starts to walk away.

Derek is utterly lost on what to do next so he looks around a little, frowns, sighs and then proceeds in sitting on the bench in front of the hostel.

The merfolk should really come up with a better plan when they decided to give this kind of present to their youngsters. What was he supposed to do now?

“You're not going in?” He jumps when he hears Stiles voice again and Derek looks up to find him watching with two raised eyebrows and again he find himself stammering,

“Uh- uh no, I'm not… staying here..”

“Why didn't you tell me?” Stiles seems a little exasperated and Derek flinches. “I mean, you should've told me, sometimes I just assume stuff, it's something I'm working on..” He says more softly, “So, where are you staying?” Derek doesn't know what to say so he bites the inside of his cheeks and stays silent.

Stiles cocks his head to a side, “You don't have a place to stay, do you?” Derek can't take the stare match that it's going on so he looks away, utterly mortified. “Your board gets eaten by sharks, you lose your shorts, you don't have a place where to stay.. Man, your having some shitty day, aren't you? Or…”

Derek looks up at that.

“You're a sea creature came to spend a day among humans.”

Derek stares, his mouth might be hanging open too.

“I'm right, aren't I?”

Derek's pretty sure his eyes couldn't get any wider.

Stiles smirks. _Smirks_ , and waves a hand at him, “oh, don't be surprised, you wouldn't be the first supernatural/mythical creature I've met.. So wait are you like a selkie, a mer-"

“Don't!” Derek yelled.

Stiles eyes widened, “Oh, so that part of the legends it’s true?”

Derek shrugged, his heart beating like crazy in his chest. This is wrong, this wasn't supposed to happen. He may start panicking now.

“Hey,” Stiles is crouching in front of him, and his hand is hovering in the air like he wants to touch but is not sure if it's okay. Derek turns his impossibly wide eyes at him, “I won't hurt you, I promise. Just tell me what I can do to help,”

“If you look at me and say what I am, or tell anyone else, they will know and I won’t be able to touch sea water anymore…”

“Okay, so I’m not gonna say it.” Stiles shrugs.

“How are you not..” Derek frowns.

“Freaked out? Running away screaming? Pointing at you and yelling monster?” Derek nodded slowly. Stiles gave him, his easy grin that has always made Derek’s heart flutter, “I told you,” He stood up, holding out his hand, “I’m sort of an expert,” Derek took it and stood up too.

“How?”

“I’m double majoring in criminology and folklore.. sorta had to after my best friend got bitten by a werewolf.. what?”

“Werewolves are real?”

“Yep.”

Huh. Apparently the world is more complicated than he could ever imagine.

“Hey, you hungry?” Stiles asks then, and he nods, “Good, I’m craving for curly fries right now, but I don’t know if they have it this late…”

 

They do end up finding a place where they can get curly fries and then they walk to Stiles’ house. Stiles is eating the fries with gusto, making sounds that are making Derek blush to the tips of his ears, but he still haven’t eaten one.

“You can eat them, you know?” Derek looks up guiltily and Stiles just smiles at him, but then frowns, “Well I think so.. it’s just potatoes with a little of seasoning.. what do you usually eat?”

“Fish.”

“Right.” Stiles says holding back a smile, “Just try it, I promise, I’ll make you fish, if you don’t like it.”

And at that, Derek might fall a little harder for the guy. Ugh, he was hopeless.

So he tries it. And the texture is weird, and Stiles is looking at him expectantly (They’re in the house now, Stiles has just closed the front door) so he says, “It’s not fish.” And watches in awe the way Stiles tips back his head to bark out a laugh.

“Yeah, it’s definitely not fish.” He says and his eyes are sparkling and Derek’s pretty sure the tingling in his body should stop at some point but it just _won’t_. Not when the love of his life is looking at him like that. “Do you like it?” he asks then and Derek takes another bite to make sure and then nods.

The smile that Stiles gives him could be compared to the sun, for its brightness.

So then Stiles goes to sleep cuz “ _damn, I’m whipped_. I need to lie down,” and without thinking shows Derek to the guest room, and Derek is so awed from everything, because wow, humans have so many _things._ And the squared soft thing is actually too soft and so weird like everything else but so cool?? And they just have to press a button for light! They don’t have to chase and beg angelr fishes to make them some light when it get super dark!

But then they have stairs, and stairs are scary okay? But Stiles was there and he held his hand until they were up on the floating floor, so it’s fine. Stiles’ hands are a little calloused but they’re Stiles hands, and they’re veiny and Derek loves ‘em like everything about Stiles.

He’s thinking all this sitting stiffly on the bed when, suddenly Stiles is back at the guest room door, “Shit, I didn’t think. You said you were staying here for a day only.. I doubt you want to waste any time sleeping, right?”

Derek shakes his head, “Not really, but you need to sleep, you had that kid class in the morning and then practiced until late…”

“Yeah, I know- wait, how do you know?”

 _Shit_.

So, now Stiles sort of knows that Derek may have been watching him since they were little kids, but he seems sort of endeared by the way Derek tells him this blushing and stuttering some more. So, it’s okay.

Stiles take him back to the living room (Derek almost breaks the bones of his hand when they go down the stairs again) and puts the little mermaid on, because he figures it’s sort of educational for Derek, you know for how humans sort of see mermaids and all that jam. And Der ofc watches, drinking it all in, as Stiles dozes off the on the couch.

So that’s how their friendship start.

Stiles spends the whole day with him, telling him stuff about the human world and showing him things that he thinks, Derek will love, and Derek loves them, because Stiles showed them to him. And in turn he tells little bits of mundane stuff about _his_ world, like the way they communicate under water, and Stiles listens to it all in awe.

When the day is over, they’re both super sad. Because it was over so _soon_ , and they don’t want it to be the last time they see each other.

And Derek can’t compare the happiness and fullness that he feels when Stiles asks him if he will come back tomorrow, so that they can see each other again –even if just on water- to anything else.

When he goes back home Talia and his sisters are waiting for him and they sigh in relief when they see him all smiley an happy and _okay_.

It’s tradition to give their eighteen-year olds the choice to see how the creatures with whom they share this world live, but through the centuries them not coming back home, once the leg-spell wore off, because discovered and hurt or worse, were a pretty normal occurrence.

Occurrence feared from their family members.

His mom and his sisters were especially afraid because they knew about Stiles and Derek’s crush on the human boy, and feared that he would find the temptation to tell him the truth too strong and so break his heart and end his life in the process. But apparently everything was right, and Derek was happy.

Every day, Derek goes to find Stiles and everyday Stiles spends some time with him just talking or watching each other practice or swim.

Stiles’ face when he first saw Derek’s tail could only be described as awed and when he saw how fast Derek could swim as amazed and possibly turned on.

Derek has never been so happy in his entire life. Every day was just spectacular, because Stiles was everything he had fantasized he’d be when he used to watch him and study him from afar, and _more_.

He wasn’t scared of Derek, he didn’t make him feel weird when he’d ask something that must’ve been obvious for Stiles. But just told him about the other weird stuff about his life, like how his best friend was a werewolf and about the girl he had a crush on for pretty much his whole middle and high school experience was a banshee.

It turned out even more perfect when Stiles confessed his love for Derek.

It was late at night, the moon looked like a toenail but it was bright and the stars were visible more than usual. Derek was telling Stiles of the Underwater Swimming Dance Competition and how Der was the unbeaten champion since 2012, and Stiles all of a sudden says, “Show me.”

So, Derek takes Stiles’ hand and tugs a little, gesturing to get off the surfboard that he was straddling. Stiles complies easily and waits as Derek puts them into the right position, with Stiles hands firmly on Derek’s shoulders while Derek has his hands on Stiles’ sides, to keep him up. Usually the dance happens under water of course, but Derek can imagine a way to adapt it with half of his body above water. And then, he starts moving, his tail swirling and curling to gain speed and just like that they’re dancing.

Stiles’ breath catches and his eyes widen a little. He looks down to look at how his legs follow Derek’s tail in an endless chase, his arms now tightly wound around Derek’s neck, hanging on for dear life, and then he starts laughing happily and soon Derek’s laughing with him.

When they finally stop swirling, Derek feels high on happiness and he would’ve been pretty sure that the “Oh my god, I’m in love with you.” That he hears after, is fruit of his imagination if it isn’t for the way Stiles is blushing and stuttering.

And for once, Derek feels bold and tips his head down to catch Stiles’ lips with his, successfully shutting him up and kissing him sweetly.

Something happens when their lips meet. Words seem petty and not even close to enough to describe how it feels. His whole being, his heart, mind and soul is all concentrated on this moment, everything is Stiles and it’s excitingly new but at the same time seems the oldest and most natural thing he could ever do. Like kissing and just being with Stiles is just part of who he is.

His hands curl around the human more possessively and feels incredibly pleased when the gesture elicits a moan that he promptly swallows down his throat. “I love you too,” He says a little breathless, brushing his nose to his. “I always did.”

And that’s how their love story begins.

Nothing really changes, they already spent every free time they had together, now they spend it kissing and touching each other, as opposed to talking, which they do only after all the kissing and moaning business.

When they do, they sometimes, talk about cheesy stuff like how beautiful and bright the stars and the moon are, and after discovering Derek’s passion for constellation Stiles got him a pendant with the constellation of Perseus, as opposed to the Lyra one that Derek says he loves for the tragic story of Orpheus and Eurydice, the one where the girl ends up dead and the guy finds a way to go to the underworld and strike a deal to bring back the girl by playing the Lyra so wonderfully and promising not to turn back to make sure that she will follow him, but that fails miserably when he gives into temptation just when they’re almost out, back in the world of the living. The guy, upon having lost the love of his life not once but _twice_ , gives up life and dies to finally live eternally in the underworld with his love. And supposedly the Lyra was after, cast into the sky by Jupiter itself.

“I’m not giving you something that will make you think of us as doomed lovers, Derek.” Stiles says as he fastens the pendant around his neck. “We will find a way, like Perseus always did. We are _not_ doomed.”

And Derek nods and kisses Stiles’ nose because this is a good day, and everything seems possible.

A couple of days after, he’s absently caressing the pendant on his neck, while looking for the right size wentletrap shell that would make the perfect gift for Stiles.

When he finally finds one as big as his pinkie finger he swims to a place where he knows he won’t be disturbed, and sings, into its opening, the melody that comes from deep inside him whenever he thinks of Stiles.

In the merfolk tradition, the melody of the love that the merman or mermaid feels towards his or her mate, is something to be exchanged during a ceremony where both lovers’ families are present to witness it.

But Derek’s situation is hardly traditional, and he stopped thinking about respecting tradition the moment he realized that it was just that preventing him from being open about the person he has ever loved most.

He’s a little nervous when the afternoon rolls around though, and he finds himself swimming in a wide circle muttering over and over, “I’m going to give it to him, nope I’m not going to give it to him.”

Finally, stopping all rational thoughts, he swims to their little alcove and blurts, “This is for you!” shoving the seashell attached to a string made of multiple, tightly bound seaweed strings, into Stiles face.

Stiles takes it from his hands and not getting any sounds, Derek slowly looks up to see his face.

“This is for me?” Stiles seems so awed and surprised to get a present that it makes strange, clutching things to Derek’s heart.

“Of course,” he says rubbing a circle on Stiles thigh, “If- If you hold it to your ear, you can hear my voice..”

As soon as he says it, Stiles holds it to his ear and Derek watches with relief at how Stiles’ eyes gradually widens as he listens to the melody, “Derek,” his voice is hoarse when he finally out down the necklace, his eyes bright, “It’s the most beautiful gift I had ever received.”

Derek can’t resist in surging up and kiss him, holding to the rough surface of the rock where Stiles is perched, to keep his balance. “It also means something important in our culture..” he mumbles when he pulls back, looking away.

“Yeah?” Stiles asks gently stroking the hair at the nape of his neck, the smile clear in his voice.

Derek bits his lip, and feels the warmness of the blush make its way up to the tips of his ears, “Yeah, I think it can be compared as….”

….

“Derek?”

Derek hums in askance from where he has his face buried in the skin of Stiles’ thigh.

“Derek, you were kinda saying something.”

Derek makes something in the middle of a pained and embarrassed sound from the back of his throat, and Stiles cracks up laughing.

“God, you’re unbelievable.” Stiles says fondly, “Do I have to propose myself for you, would that make you feel better?”

Derek finally looks up from his hiding place and smiles shyly up at him, “So, you know?”

Stiles grins, securing the necklace around his neck, “I told you, I’m majoring in folklore, and my boyfriend is a-… _sea creature_ , of course I know this stuff.”

“And what’s your answer?”

“Are you going to ask me?”

Derek nods, “Will you be my mate, Stiles?”

“Hell, yeah, I will.” Stiles answers, pushing himself off the rock and into Derek’s arms.

 

Sometimes though, it’s hard to remain hopeful as they share their dreams and fantasize of a life together, where they can see each other without Derek having to sneak off to do it, where Stiles gets to know Derek’s family and Derek gets to meet Stiles’ dad. Of a life where Stiles was a merman too and gets to be Derek’s partner at every under water dance competition. Of a life where Derek was human or at least creature that gets to live on the ground, like say.. a werewolf, like Stiles’ best friend, and have a normal life, a happily domestic life with Stiles, growing old together.

Because almost every time, one of the two grows sad and the other has to hold him tightly as he shakes and cries silently.

Sometimes they both cry, and curse their fate of being born in such different worlds.

In one of these occasion, Derek has a really hard time leaving Stiles, as his mate had a particularly bad day. One of Stiles’ class kids almost drowned at his first outing on the water and it shook Stiles so hard that after, accomplishing anything was pretty much impossible, thus throwing him in a really bad mood, and making him feel like the universe was mocking him.

Derek’s time to go home was well passed, now, but he was too busy trying to comfort Stiles to notice his uncle swimming by, for then stop abruptly when he sees them and take in the scene presenting before his eyes.

When he finally does leave to go home, after asking again and again if Stiles was okay and leaving only when Stiles seemed more panicked for the fact that it is way later than he usually leaves, his sister Laura practically assaults him and drags him deep in a cave, far from prying eyes and ears.

“What the hell, Laura!?”

His sister whacks him in the head, “What were you thinking staying this late with him?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Stiles.” His sister grits her teeth as she says it, and Derek might have a mini heart attack at that. “Yes, I know, Cora knows and now Mom and Dad know too, because Uncle Peter told them! Because he saw you! With him!”

Derek feels the world collapse all around him. So, this was it. “What will they do to him?” he asks numbly.

Laura shakes her head, “I don’t know, but you know our laws, you can’t tell our secret to the humans, they will use it against us and hunt us and kill us, they-”

“Stiles’ nothing like that!”

“I know,” she says more softly, “but _they_ don’t, and they won’t care. You broke one of our oldest rules, and the punishment for that would be death or exile, but since you’re son of Triton’s descendant, mom could find another way..”

He looks up hopefully at that, but his sister shakes her head, “They could decide to drown him, or wipe your memories.”

“ _No_ ,”

So, his heart will be ripped apart no matter what they decide.

They return to their home and Derek twists and worries at his pendant the whole time as he waits for his parent to come out and tell him what his fate will be. He hates every single second of it, dread and sorrow coiling deep inside him. If they decide to drown Stiles- No. he would never let that happen. He couldn’t live if- he thinks of what Stiles had said about them not being doomed lovers, and he wants to curl up and cry, because he’d believed him and now everything is falling apart because it was Derek’s fault. He had seen Stiles first, he had fallen for him first, putting him in danger even without him knowing it, and now Derek might be the cause of his death because he hadn’t left sooner. _Everything_ was his fault.

Talia comes out then, and immediately takes Derek by an arm and swims them through their quarters, taking them to his room.

“Mom,” he starts but clamps his mouth shut when he sees the sorrowful look on her face, “What?”

“I’m so sorry, my love, I tried-”

“No! Mom, please! I love him,” He pleads, “He’s nothing like the humans the elders talk about, he’s different and he loves me back even if he knows what I am,”

“I know.”

“What?”

“I knew about him before Peter told us.” She tells him and he’s so surprised, he doesn’t know how to react at that. “I hoped it would be a temporary thing and when I started to realize that it wasn’t… I hoped I could talk to you about the consequences before- without anyone else knowing about it,”

“I know what the consequences are.” He says numbly, “I- I just whished for something _better_.”

Talia gathers him in her arms and that’s when he let himself break apart, “Mom, I love him so much,” he sobs, “ _Please_.”

“Oh, my little boy,” Talia’s voice breaks, “I never wanted you to hurt so much, couldn’t you fall for some other merman?”

Derek makes a wounded sound, feeling like his chest is being ripped apart. “No,” He says tightening his arms around Talia’s middle, “There’s no one for me if not Stiles,” he sobs, “And I don’t want anyone else.”

 

The elders wanted to solve the problem by drowning Stiles _and_ wiping Derek’s memories, but Talia being as important as a queen and since it was about her son they were talking about, convinced and compromised in _just_ wiping both boys’ memories.

Derek has never felt so heartbroken in his existence. But he would do anything to make sure that Stiles would live a happy life even if it was without him. And even if he would forget to have ever known Derek… but then again, Derek would forget Stiles too. And he doesn’t know how to feel about that.

Stiles has been such a big part of his life for so long..

Stiles moulded him in a way. Derek is who he is now, part of it because of Stiles.

And maybe he sounds like the typical overdramatic teenage merman, but he doesn’t know who he is without Stiles, and the thought of blankness where all of his memories of Stiles are, feel like a void that he knows, will never be able to fill.

The elders didn’t even give him the chance to go to Stiles first, so that he could explain what has happened and what _will_ happen. They threatened to go with the initial plan if he had been discovered gone before them.

Derek has never felt so much hatred towards his people like in that moment.

The ceremony to remove two lovers’ memories required for the memories to be wiped at the same time and for the lovers to be near each other. It’s the only way to make sure that the process worked thoroughly.

So Derek leads them towards the alcove where Stiles first saw him, the place that since then has become their meeting point.

Derek feels his heart break all over again, when he sees Stiles’ surfboard above them. Stiles’ legs are dangling from its sides and Derek can easily imagine the way his face looks as he contemplates the sky above, like he often does as he waits for Derek to show up.

Derek looks back, the elders and his family are just behind him and he pushes a little harder, desperate to have even just a second with him alone.

“Stiles,” he gasps as soon as he’s above.

“Hey?” Stiles turns his head and his eyes are so soft and full of love that Derek feels another knot forming in his throat, choking him, “What’s wrong?” Stiles asks immediately, sitting up, “Der-”

“They know,” Derek sobs and watches miserably as Stiles’ eyes widen, and his pulse visibly starts jumping in his throat, “They want to wipe our memories, they’re going to do it now, I’m so sorry-”

“What? No!” Stiles is shaking his head, his whole body trembling as he reaches for Derek’s shoulders, “They can’t, I won’t let them take you from me,”

Derek whimpers, feels his whole body shake and doesn’t know how to stop.

Everything is falling and it’s his fault, “I’m so sorry,”

“No, Derek _stop_ , it’s not your fault, it’s no-”

“DEREK HALE, SON OF TALIA DESCENDANT OF POSEIDON’S SON, TRITON. WITHDRAW YOURSELF FROM THE SON OF ADAM.”

Stiles holds on his shoulders even more tightly and looks wide eyed as he sees the procession of merfolk coming towards them. “Derek-,” Stiles’ whisper is broken and Derek thinks that that’s the sound that his heart makes when he feels it break inside him.

“DEREK HALE. I SAID-”

“WAIT!”

There’s a commotion behind him but Derek doesn’t want to turn, he grips at Stiles sides’ and wills his body to never forget the way his skin feels against the person he loves with every fibre of his body and soul. Stiles doesn’t let go of his grip on Derek’s shoulders and he knows that Stiles feels the same as he does.

“ _Moneim_?”

 _That_ gets both of their attention and Stiles searches for the face that uttered the name, “How do you know my real name?” he asks still searching the crowd.

“It is you then,”

Derek turns his head a little just to see behind him but not moving his arms from around Stiles.

It was one of the elders. The eldest of them all. And for that the most respected and whose word and sentence meant more than any decision taken from the others.

Emma of the Pale Silver Comb would be their salvation.

Her opinion had taken to count so heavily and in such a definitive way, that through the years, as far as Derek knows, she had stopped voicing them.

Derek has never heard her speak, and from the shock he was sensing the others were in, neither did they, at least since a long time.

Everyone is silent as she approaches the two boys and puts a reassuring hand on Derek’s shoulder, and smiles softly at them both, “My sweet boys,” she says, her voice as lovely as the sound of a harp, “No one will take your memories, I promise.”

“But Eldes-”

“YOU DARE TO DEFY ME?” Emma’s voice turns as cold and as powerful as the sound of waves crashing onto a cliff.

The man that had uttered the protest ducked his head and fell silent with the rest of the crowd.

“These two..” Emma started more softly, the powerful and old note in her voice never disappearing in her tone though, “I’m surprised that none of have seen it yet. Don’t you recognize the kind of bond that these two boys irradiate?” she gives another reassuring smile at the boys and spreads her arms wide turning back to the merfolk, “They are true mates. Their souls, bound together from something as old and sacred as the universe itself.

“Wiping their memories of each other won’t work. Their bond transcends any magic you could ever use on them. You won’t break their engagement.” She announces, “You will celebrate it and open your doors to Moneim, as he won’t ever betray us. He is like us in a way. Enchantment runs through his veins even if he might not know it yet.”

Derek frowns and looks up at his boyfriend. Stiles’ frowning too, and sensing Derek’s eyes on him he shrugs.

“We will grant them the possibility to live in each other’s worlds, for however and as for as long they will like. That is my verdict. _That is the law_.”

No one dared to go against Emma of the Pale Silver Comb, and Derek and Stiles got their happily ever after.

Stiles had been right, after all, when he said that they were _not_ doomed lovers. No, their love would always win. Apparently, has for centuries, and probably will for a couple more.

They, _finally_ , get to realise the fantasies and dreams they talked about so many times.

Derek gets to meet Stiles’ dad and live on the ground with Stiles whenever he chooses to.

Stiles gets to feel how it’s like to have an actual tail instead of feet and properly meet Derek’s family.

And from then on, they participate at all the Underwater Swimming Dance Competitions as partners.

And of course they lived happily ever after.

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr](http://atticuos.tumblr.com/)


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